CLIMATE OF THE KARROO. 95 



had run down the saturated embroideries in long 

 streaks, showing where a red book had stood, where a 

 blue or green one, etc. Fortunately, a good cleaning and 

 washing restored most things to a tidy, if not perfectly 

 fresh appearance ; but those poor books never recovered. 



In a few days — incredibly few — the efi'ects of a good 

 rain are seen in the appearance of the veldt, which 

 rapidly loses its dry, bnrnt-up look. But, even before 

 the perennial bush has had time to recover its succu- 

 lence and verdure, all the spaces between its isolated 

 tufts are covered with the softest and most delicate- 

 looking vegetation, which, as if by magic, has sprung 

 suddenly into existence. All these plants, which are of 

 many different kinds, and some of which possess very 

 minute and pretty flowers, are indiscriminately called 

 by the Dutch opslaag (" that which comes up ") ; and if 

 you happen at the time of their appearance to have a 

 troop of infant ostriches, there is no better food for the 

 little creatures than this tender, bright-green foliage. 

 They are but short-lived little plants ; the hot sun soon 

 drying them up. 



If the Cape Colony only possessed mountains high 

 entugh to give an abundant rainfall, what a gloriously 

 fertile country it would be ! Without droughts, what 

 a splendid possession our farm would be to us ! Often, 

 when the coveted clouds have passed so close that it 

 seemed as if they must be just about to break over 



the farm, T , remembering how the firing of the 



great guns at Woolwich sometimes brings down the 

 rain, has thought it might be a good plan to send up a 



